Dr Phil Diamond, Chief of CSIRO Astronomy and Space Science.

Dr Phil Diamond: Chief of CSIRO Astronomy and Space Science

Dr Phil Diamond is Chief of CSIRO Astronomy and Space Science, which incorporates the observatories of the Australia Telescope National Facility and the Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex.

• 17 September 2010 | Updated 14 October 2011

• Current activities
• Background
• Academic qualifications
• Achievements

Current activities

Dr Phil Diamond became the Chief of CSIRO Astronomy and Space Science on 1 June 2010.

Dr Diamond has responsibility for CSIRO's radio astronomy capabilities (the Australia Telescope National Facility) and other space science activities, most notably the Canberra Deep Space Communications Complex (CDSCC), which CSIRO operates in support of NASA.

A key focus of Dr Diamond is to continue to foster CSIRO's reputation for exceptional radio astronomy, maintaining the excellent track record that the CDSCC has in supporting NASA's space missions, while strengthening the linkages that naturally occur between astronomy and space science.

Dr Diamond is also responsible for delivering the next-generation Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) radio telescope, currently being constructed at the Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory in Western Australia.

As well as being a world-leading instrument in its own right, ASKAP will be a 'demonstrator' for the future A$2.5 billion Square Kilometre Array (SKA), an international telescope that may be built in Australia.

Once ASKAP is built, responsibility for its operation will fall to Australia Telescope National Facility Operations, which provides telescopes and associated instrumentation for the astronomers who use them.

As Chief of CSIRO Astronomy and Space Science, Dr Diamond manages:

• about 300 staff
• Australia Telescope National Facility Operations
• three science themes that make up CSIRO's radio astronomy activities - astrophysics, technologies for radio astronomy, and ASKAP 
• The Canberra Deep Space Communications Complex.

Dr Diamond is also a member of CSIRO's Executive Management Council.

Background

Prior to joining CSIRO, Dr Diamond worked for the University of Manchester, United Kingdom (UK), where he was the Director of the Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics.

He was also the coordinator for PrepSKA, the important Preparatory Phase study for the SKA project.

He has also worked at the Onsala Space Observatory in Sweden, the Max Planck Institute for Radioastronomy in Bonn, Germany and spent 12 years in various positions within the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in the USA.

Dr Diamond's primary scientific interests are in two different areas:

• attempting to understand the physics that drives the end point of the evolution of stars like our Sun; he does this through radio interferometric observations of molecular masers in the circumstellar envelopes of evolved stars
• the study of the starburst phenomenon in ultra-luminous IR galaxies, again he uses high-resolution interferometry to study the detailed structure of maser and radio continuum emission in starburst galaxies.

Dr Diamond also has a keen interest in the techniques of interferometry and the algorithms that are used to calibrate and image radio data.

Academic qualifications

Dr Diamond holds a:

• Bachelor of Science (majors in Physics and Astrophysics) from Leeds University, UK
• Doctor of Philosophy in Radio Astronomy from Manchester University.

Achievements

Dr Diamond's research is focused primarily on astrophysical masers and starburst galaxies.

He has contributed to a significant number of scientific publications with over 300 papers, including prestigious journals such as Nature and Science.

In addition to Dr Diamond's extensive professional experience, he has been an active scientist supervising Doctorate students and Postdoctoral Research Fellows who have worked on important breakthroughs in astronomy.

The measure of the high regard in which Dr Diamond is held by his peers is demonstrated by his membership of the following committees and boards (since 2000):

• Member, CSIRO Executive Management Committee, 2010–present
• Member, International SKA steering committee (Chairman from 2004–06), 2000–present
• Member, ALMA Management Advisory Committee, 2009–present:
• Chairman, RadioNet FP7 Board, 2009–10
• Member, University of Cambridge Cavendish Professorial appointment panel, 2009
• Member, Canadian NRC-HIA International Review Panel, 2009
• Member, NAOJ radio astronomy review panel, 2008
• Member, Astronet Working Group Ð defining the Strategic Plan for European Astronomy, 2008–09:
• Irish (IRCSET) Postdoctoral Scientist Selection Panel, 2007–08
• ALMA Operations Review Panel, 2007
• University Cambridge review panel for Kavli Institute of Cosmology, 2007
• International Science Review Board, Australia Telescope National Facility, 2006–07
• NAIC/Arecibo Visiting Committee, 2006–10
• MIT/Haystack Visiting Committee, 2006–present
• Board of Directors of European VLBI Network (Chairman 2001–03), 1999–2006
• Board of Joint Institute for VLBI in Europe (JIVE) (Chairman, 2003–06), 2001–06
• ATNF Steering Committee, 2003–05
• NRAO Visiting Committee (Chairman in 2003–04), 2002–05
• International Funds Expert Committee for Canada Foundation for Innovation, 2002–05
• SKA Director Selection Committee (Chairman), 2002
• Astrophysical Virtual Observatory Executive Committee, 2001–05
• UK ALMA Science Advisory Committee, 2000–03.

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